Droid Says iPhone Is Too Pretty (And Therefore Dumb)

Verizon has launched an ad for its Motorola Droid phone attacking Apple's iPhone.

Asking consumers to choose function over form is quite a risky move - especially when consumers demand both!

This ad seems like a bit of a desperate move to sway consumers over to the droid (and lock them into contracts!) before the new wave of smart phones launch next year - phones that will likely prove to be "tiara wearing pageant queens" that manage to perform like that "race horse strapped to a SCUD missile."

His Name Is Ram And I Think His Tank Is Full

In a world were trucks are usually sold using montages of guys on a work site, trucks hauling full payloads and imagery of horses, GM has decided to step outside of the box.

Although they didn't think beyond the vignette style, they managed to use only a handful of truck images over the entire :60 seconds!

Perhaps a bit too close to Levi's Go Forth campaign, but at least its a start!

Quentin Tarantino + Softbank = WTF

Well this really makes no sense at all...

And to tell you the truth I don't think understanding Japanese will help at all!

Milk Men...

A new parody of Mad Men - looks fantastic!

Milk Men - A Mad Men Parody

Atom.com: Funny Videos | Spoofs | TV & Movie Spoofs

Guinness Brings Advertising To Life

A beautiful ad... but I have no idea what this has to do with beer.

An Open Door Policy

An intriguing proposition put forth by Forza Motorsport 3 - creating an open door policy on the worlds best cars.

Something that I am sure will have huge appeal to car buffs and racing fans alike!

Porsche Puts A New Branch On Their Family Tree

A new ad for Porsche's Panamera 4 door sports car.

Taking advantage of their history is a great way to launch a car that many folks thought would lead to an over extension of the brand's equity.

Also great to see that even the 922 wasn't forgotten!

Levi's continues to 'Go Forth' with Walt Whitman

Another ad in Levi's 'Go Forth' campaign - again featuring Walt Whitman's poetry. Supposedly read by Whitman himself...

Apple Fends Off Windows 7 With Superior Fashion Sense

Well it didn't take long for Apple produce this spot (Perhaps not surprising given all the hype around Microsoft's new Windows 7 OS!)

In 30 seconds Apple is able to not only tell us that we have heard all of this hype before, but also able to reinforce that windows (even if repackaged for Windows 7) will never make you cool...



A couple of other new ads targeting Window's 7:

Direct TV Resurrects Chris Farley!

Well not quite... But they did manage to hire David Spade (Farley's long time "friend") to get into one of their new ads and refer to Chris as "that."

I'm all about the integration of pop culture into advertising, but something seems a little off here... "too soon" perhaps?

I guess this goes to show what folks are willing to do for a buck.

New Mr. Sub Campaign Gets BOS Fired!

Three new ads for Mr. Sub - the first and last campaign put together by BOS. I guess someone didn't learn from the Snickers Super Bowl fiasco.

KFC, Its Finger Lickin' Good - Taken To The Next Level

I'm not sure what it is about the new KFC "Krushers" ads that make them so appealing.

Perhaps it was the discovery of a couple of great international consumer insights:
1) People like to see other people putting things in their mouths.
2) Dance music makes everything better.

Mad Men Moves From Madison Ave To... Sesame St?

Looks like this segment is meant to appeal to parents more than kids... I guess Sesame Street has to find some way of keeping parents engaged during their "co-viewing" time!

Rock Band Helps Everyone 'Come Together'

A new ad supporting The Beatles rock band game.

Is nothing sacred?

I guess it is a nice (obvious) way of telling people that they can now come together and "be The Beatles," but the mixing of the Abbey road photograph and modern life just seems a little wrong.

Cadbury: Now Producing Music Videos!

Looks like the joint Saatchi & Saatchi and Cadbury production company has stepped away from producing ads featuring dancing eyebrows and drumming Gorillas!

The first video from the 'glass and a half full' record label features people, dancers, rappers and cultural icons from Ghana - the source of Cadbury's Fairtrade chocolate.

An interesting concept - brands using artists to given them engaging copy and artists using brands as a way to promote their music.

It will definitely be interesting to see what they think of next!

The Puma Index: Bringing A Bit Of Joy To Stock Market Declines!

Puma Bodywear has come up with an ingenious idea! Combining the pleasures of strip poker and day trading, The Puma Index featuring ladies that promise to remove articles of cloths (presumably Puma) as the stock market declines!

Enjoy!

Designing Obama: The Book

Scott Thomas, the man behind the Obama campaign designs, is trying to put a book together chronicling the designs that helped bring Obama to power.

In partnership with KickStarter, Scott is hoping to raise enough money to cover the cost of a minimum print run for the book. It's going to be interesting to see if Obama-mania can drive this endeavour - months after the designs helped bring Obama to office.

How Big Can Footbal Get?

A new TV spot from EA's new FIFA 10 game launch campaign.

A cool integration of real life and (video)game footage.

LG Is Now Making Drive In Movie Screens!

That is if you are a very very small person and drive around in a miniture toy car!

A cool new ad for thier enV Touch phone.

You Know What Happens To Monsters...

I wonder if the creative team behind this spot was inspired by the up coming 'where the wild things are' movie.

Is is just me or is their a strange comparison here between families and monsters...

James Dean - Legend

A new ad out of South Africa for Allan Gray investments.

James Dean & Investments? Might seem like an odd fit, but when you think about the tagline, "Given more time, imagine possibilities" it all seems to fit together.

Creativity Can Come In A Box

A new video proving that creativity can in fact come from thinking inside the box.

The video shows the outcome of a social experiment that was set up by Zak Mroueh, founder of agency Zulu Alpha Kilo and former Taxi creative leader. Last fall, Mroueh took a team of "black collar" workers to Yonge and Dundas square in Toronto and attempted to solve the problems of folks walking by.

An interesting concept and a true testament to the applicability of the creative mind.

It Turns Out People Love It In The Can!

I never thought I would say this... but I think I'm actually craving it in the can right now.

Brilliant.

Nokia's Future Reality

A very cool video from Nokia - that is if you can get past the extreme cheese factor! I can appreciate the technology and innovative methods of connectivity but I don't know if all that is worth ending up in a world where men deliver picnics on row boats while wearing bullet proof vests...

The Wonderful World of McCafe

Ahhhhh, McCafe. A gastronomic paradise. The perfect blend of quaint patisserie and multinational fast food chain. The only place you can pick up a box of macaroons, a perfectly prepared cappuccino and a 20 pack of Chicken McNuggets.

A couple of new ads out of Paris for McCafe showing just how this brand is doing a fine job of blending two culinary worlds that no one thought possible.

Alex Bogusky Comments on Twitter

An interesting interview with Alex Bogusky (Chairman of Crispin Porter + Bogusky) on the concept of Twitter. For those who are interested in learning why folks feel the media is so powerful, its worth the view - even if you do have to put up with the host!

Coke Makes You Cool

Well I don't know if "Cool" is the correct word (my Turkish really isn't as strong as it used to be), but a new Coke campaign promises that the brand will help you roll with rockstars and astronauts... and can even help you and your giant creepy stuffed dog get into slumber parties!

After the creation of Coke Zero, I guess everything is possible!

Their Right! Marmite Is Horrible!

Growing up I never understood why my father loved to spread fermented yeast on toast... As you probably guessed, I fell on the "Hate it" side of the "love it or hate it" tag line.

No idea who "Horrible Henry" is, but at least he's is helping bring some accuracy to this new Marmite ad! (even if they ad the word perfectly in front of it)

Halo 3 ODST Ad... Wow

A new live action ad for Halo 3 ODST (the FPS expansion to Halo 3).

Looks like another epic ad for the Halo franchise - and I thought it couldn't get better than the hero campaign that launched the game a few years back!

Note: the Hungarian translations are aftermarket... but I thought they added some nice flavour to the spot!

Introducing The New Church Spokesman: Satan!

Metro South Church in Michigan has produced a new ad featuring none other than their ultimate enemy! I wonder if the anti-spokesman strategy will actually drive people to the church... or if it will back fire and make people think Satan is cooler than they already do...

Warning: MIA Lingerie Produces Excessive Heat

A new campaign for MIA Lingerie out of Australia.

Perhaps a bit obvious... but its definitely an effective way of communicating "HOT!"

DJ Hero Celebrity Campaign

If you haven't already heard, DJ Hero is coming out next month. Looks like the folks at Activision have flexed some muscles and got a ton of celebrities to endorse it, including DJ AM - who gives a nice speech on why everyone truly wants to be a DJ (and should therefore buy this game).



Some game play clips:

Old Spice, Now Appeals to All

A new ad for Old Spice explaining why they make so many damn products with different scents.

New "WWF" Campaign Shakes Up NYC

A new "ad" for WWF out of Brazil has caused quite a stir after winning winning a best of 2009 title at the One awards in NYC. The campaign, which WWF claims to have revoked after being shown it by their Brazilian agency, shows a multitude of planes flying into Manhattan with a caption reading:

"The tsunami killed 100 times more people than 9/11. The planet is brutally powerful. Respect it. Preserve it."

Its rare that a campaign (even a fake one!) generates this much controversy, but perhaps that's what they were trying to do. By putting the tragic events of 9/11 into the context of other recent disasters they have truly highlighted the devastation that happens around the world in a way that is relevant to folks in North America.

Inappropriate - yes
Effective - definitely

New Levi's Campaign & Old Levi's B&W Ads

An ad to launch the new Levi's "Go Forth" campaign. Showing B&W images of middle America set to Walt Whitman's poetry.



Now a couple of old Levi's B&W ads

Filmed in reverse and showing how the brand can take you from one world to another.



Watch closely and you can see that the shop keeper at the beginning is actually the girl's father at the end!

Diary = Super Strength In Animals!

A new campaign from South Africa trying to teach consumers about the health benefits they can get from Dairy.

Don't know what inspired them to highlight these benefits through showing the impact of feeding dairy to animals, but I guess if it works this well for chickens, sea gulls and tortoises, why not us!

OK, Fruit Gushers WTF Is This About...

A new ad for Fruit Gushers. Looks like a tripped out 80s German kids talk show.

Not really sure who this is targeting, but if they are trying to follow the whole "good random" trend in tween marketing they certainly achieved it with this!

British PSA Against Texting and Driving

Ok. This is quite graphic. But that is the point.

We all know that we shouldn't be using our cell phones while driving, but I think it takes a video like this really hit home why we shouldn't.

Put together by a BBC producer & director, this video is part of a larger drama produced for the Gwent Police Department (just outside of London).



Here is some footage of MSNBC discussing the PSA. Sounds like it is already quite a hit (no pun intended). Donny Deutsch even pipes at 2:30 with his thoughts.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Jason And The Guy From Scream - Now Friendlier Than Insects!

A new campaign for Baygon telling housewives to 'fight their worst fears.' Apparently masked men with dirty knives are now friendlier than household insects.

A nice way of capturing our "fears" and putting them into perspective

Japanese 'Playface' PS3 Spot

Capturing faces while playing on a PS3... some of them get quite awkward.

Looks like this video is actually 4 :15 second ads spliced together.

New Tourism Victoria Ad

Don't know what it is that caught my eye about this spot but the more I watch it the more I have no idea what its trying to sell about Victoria... have they created a magical land that farm girls can become socialites? Or is it a place where rich socialites can abandon their hard lives and live in a quaint village?

Or maybe its just saying that Victoria is a place where you can forget about your life's issues and become whomever you want.

Regardless of my complete confusion the ad is visually pleasing - Enjoy!

James' Princess Ad

Powerful Stuff

Sea Monkeys Are Back!

Looks like our favorite brine shrimp pets of yesteryear are back! Although I have to admit that I never saw the originals, I imagine these ads were inspired by the brand's comic book print ads of the 70s

There is also a new website that allows you to create your own virtual tank! You can even add faces to your pets (which could get very creepy...)

Come Play! in 2018

An ad for Australia's bid for the FIFA world cup in 2018 (or if that wont work... 2022). A ball is passed from one group to the next as it travels across the country.

Nicely done! It's great to see how they incorporated the spirit of the world cup and its ability to bring people together.

She Hits The Chocolate HARD For Fruits Sack!

A new campaign for Nestles Cranberry Raisinets featuring "sassy" talking grapes hatin' on the new girl in town.

Looks like there is more to come - I'm sure the drama will continue!

Times of India: A day in the life Chennai

A new ad for the Times of India taking place in the Detroit of South Asia - Chennai.

Although I don't know how accurate it is, the video does show what appears to be the many different sides to the city... all set to a soundtrack describing the rise and fall of a celebrity (someone from Kollywood)?

Knorr Kicks Out Salty

As much as I hate sodium I feel bad to kick Mr Salty out into the rain! Is Unilever trying to make us feel bad for not wanting salt in our diet?

If the mnemonic didn't pull at my heart strings I might feel a little better about trying to be healthy (if that can be achieved while still eating Side Kicks!), but at this point I just feel like a jerk...

Thanks Knorr!

Women in Bikinis Reading Star Wars = Sales?

Not sure how 1690 Swimwear plans on using these ads to sell bikinis to ladies but I'm sure they will help to increase their brand awareness with a ton of boyfriends!

The new "Bikini Cinema" campaign features ladies reading scripts of some of the greatest movies of all time! Portions of Star Wars, Pulp Fiction & The Big Lebowski are all read by women who are wearing what are presumably bathing suits sold by 1690 Swimwear.

Here is the Big Lebowski spot. Star Wars and Pulp Fiction can be found on YouTube.

:30 Seconds new :60 Second Spots

Well one of the spots I posted below is :90 Seconds. Either way, here are some new ads supporting the Australian TV Comedy ":30 Seconds." According to wikipedia:

"30 Seconds is an Australian comedy series produced for The Comedy Channel a cable and satellite channel. The series is about 'the moral dilemmas people face, heightened by the excesses of the advertising industry..."

From the ads the show looks funny and quite accurate. A couple other executions can be founds online, but these were my favourite!

Because A Lot of Things Keep You Out Of The Sun

Print campaign for Sundown Sunless Tanner. Shows how, with the help of their product, the things that once kept you out of the sun can now give you a nice glow.

VW Supports Its Support of Independent Film

A new campaign for Volkswagen has come to market. Each execution show how everyday people have been inspired to change their lives by watching and connecting with characters from major motion pictures. From what I have heard these ads will be running in theatres which seems like a proper forum to engage consumers with this type of message.

Of the ads in the campaign my favorite has to be the the Big Lebowski "Dudeism" spot. It features a man who, after much soul searching, decides to follow in the foot steps of The Dude.

Very inspiring.



Others show how a kid's love of Willy Wonka inspired him to become a magician and how the story of Rocky ignited a man's passion for power lifting.

A Stalker's New Best Friend

Omex has a new campaign supporting its wide angle lenses in India. Looks like they are so wide that you can now freely take pictures of unsuspecting subjects (or take a nice picture of a pigeon with some strangers stuck in the corner).

Adland also points out that Leica used a very similar idea to support its "extra wide" lens line. They also point out that both campaigns were longlisted for Cannes in the same year!

yellowBird... Reinventing Streaming Video?

yellowBird. A company with some very interesting video capturing technology. By stitching video captured from 6 cameras they are able to cover all possible viewing directions and put the viewer in control of where they want to look.

I can only imagine where this technology is going to be applied. Being placed in the middle of a sports game, virtual tours of sites, homes, hotels or, as featured in the example below, allowing folks to be placed in the middle of a music festival.

Really looking forward to "seeing" more things from this company



Check out their website (with a reallly long URL) for more info and a nice intro video!
www.yellowbirdsdonthavewingsbuttheyflytomakeyouexperiencea3dreality.com

LA Gear is Back!

Looks like 80s shoe maker LA Gear is back! And this time they are pulling out all the stops by using 8bit video games, Boom Boxes and a guy wearing a pimp hat.

Here are a few TV ads from their "Battle for the 2008ies" campaign.

Stompin'


Hippity Hopps


Stick and Move

When Life Gives You a Lemon...

Lemonade, a documentary about how 15 agency folks have transformed their lives after being laid off during the current economic downturn.

"More than 70,000 advertising professionals have lost their jobs in this Great Recession. Lemonade is about what happens when people who were once paid to be creative in advertising are forced to be creative with their own lives."



Sounds depressing, but it may reveal that being fired can sometimes be a positive force in one's life and career... just look at what happened to Steve Jobs!

The British Army. Now Taking Lead From Guy Ritchie.

OK. I can understand the FA paying homage to Guy Ritchie's Nike ad, but now the British Army? I hope they didn't see this as original.

Have consumers become so basic that we actually have to put them (as the viewer) into every situation just so they can get the "that could be me" message?

The Next Level... Now Made Accessible

Although I am a fan of the Guy Ritchie Nike football ad, I can see how some folks may have found it a little exclusive. Not everyone falls into the life of a football super star.

To bring the concept back down to earth the FA came out with this ad that nicely captures the "life" of average joe football player.

Steal

The late Paul Arden (former creative director of Saatchi & Saatchi) included this in his book "Whatever you think think the opposite."

Steal

Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination.

Devour films, books, music, poems, photographs, conversations, dreams, trees, architecture, street signs, clouds, lights and shadows.

Select only things to steal that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic.

Authenticity is invaluable.

Originality is non-existent.

Don’t bother concealing your thievery – celebrate it if you feel like it.

Remember what Jean-Luc Goddard said: ‘It’s not where you take things from – it’s where you take them to.’

I'm not sure what it is but every time I read this I'm inspired to take in the world and make it my own.

To make it even better Arden claims to have stolen this from Jim Jarmusch (who possibly stole it from someone else).

Nike Football + Guy Ritchie = "The Next Level"

An oldie but one that is still worth sharing.

I love how even without "branding" this ad we still know that Nike is the one taking football to the "next level."

Guy Ritchie being placed behind the camera doesn't hurt either!

Walter Landor on Branding & Design

I saw this video on the Landor website a little while back. I think it has been taken down so I thought I would embed it here.

Although a little long, I thought it provided a nice look into the mind of a true industry pioneer. The images of the companies old headquarters on the San Fransisco harbour aren't bad either!

New Scientology Campaign

When I first saw these ads they made me think of the Visa "GO" campaign. Very aspirational, but lacking a little 'je ne sais quoi.'

Although the visuals are nice, one issue I have with this campaign is that it does not really address the current state of the Scientology "brand" - besides associating them with some Hollywood a-listers and a few bad sci-fi novels, few people know what they are about!

I guess this is the issue with these types of campaigns... Although they may help consumers feel good about a brand, they really don't help them with their familiarity issues. Perhaps brands in this situation should focus on building a solid base of consumer knowledge before they move up the hierarchy and try to connect with folks at an emotional level... Either that or hope that a lot of people will be intrigued enough to search for more info on their own (their website is nicely presented to those that sit through the entire spot!).

Who knows, maybe this type of product works differently - Its not everyday that you see a religion trying to acquire 'new users' through television advertising.

Life


You


The Search

The Economist Launches 70 sec Spot

I'm not sure if this is a sign of business growth or if the magazine is simply taking advantage of cheap media. Either way a 70 sec ad is an aggressive format.

Hopefully they will just air a cut down of this on TV... sitting though 1:10 of a single spot may be a little much...

BBDO - Now a Gang

New BBDO agency recruitment ad.

Nearly a straight lift of a "blood" gang sign... Hope this won't be used to attract talent for their LA office!

Stealourideas.com on Checker's Breakfast

I loved this posting from Stealourideas.com on Checker's breakfast menu.

Brilliant.

The Tanning Trap

Video put out by the Danish cancer society. The ending highlights the "impact" that tanning can have on your body (no pun intended!).

Dexter + High Fashion = Barneys Window Display

These didn't last too long!

Evidently they were taken down quite quickly after being revealed to Madison Avenue on lookers. A shame really...

Lego 'Making History' Campaign

I love this. Brings me back to the time in my life when my only goal was to build the greatest Lego structure possible.

To celebrate Lego's 50 years of producing plastic bricks the brand launched their "making history" campaign. Integrating the brand into a few powerful moments that have taken place during their history.